Only half of Chicago Public Schools’ $10 billion in yearly spending makes it to the classroom
Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner
Here’s one fact Chicagoans should know as the Chicago Teachers Union demands billions more for its massive labor contract: only half of the $10 billion spent at CPS each year makes it to classrooms and instruction. The other $5 billion goes to fund a sprawling bureaucracy of near-empty to half-empty schools, an increasingly bloated administrative staff and ever more debt, driven largely by pensions. All to the union’s benefit.
The fact that just half of CPS’ spending goes to classrooms is based on an analysis by Wirepoints of the district’s 2025 interactive budget and the State Board of Education’s Illinois Report Card. A look at that budget shows that CPS plans to spend, all-in, nearly $9.9 billion in 2025. That includes operational, debt-service and capital spending.
Of that nearly $10 billion, only $5 billion will be spent on the city’s school network – about 51% of the total district spend. The other $5 billion? Pension contributions consume $1.2 billion, debt repayments eat up $800 million and capital spending uses $600 million. The remaining $2.1 billion goes to district administration and support services.
